The open world subgenre which is characterized by a vast and sprawling, massive world where players can freely explore and choose to tackle the in-game objectives in any order they seem fit, is also becoming one of the most used tropes in gaming, to the point that there’s an open world fatigue right now in the industry, according to Final Fantasy Remake Naoki Hamaguchi. In a recent interview with Eurogamer, he has shared his insights on games featuring open world while stating that what he finds most interesting in these types of titles is the amount of freedom that’s handed to all players.
“There are a lot of open world games out in the world right now, and [the idea of ‘open world fatigue’] is a very important concept to me,” he said when weighing in on general feedback from players for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. “It depends on personal preference and different perceptions, but for me personally, I know I’ve had the experience where I’ve been thrown out into an open world game and not known where to go, not known where to begin, and not known what to do. But at the same time, the concept of being thrown into this wondrous world where anything goes is amazing.”
While it’s true that how open worlds are used in most videogames has certainly seen less and less innovation with time, with very few games offering something truly unique that makes the world connect with the players in newer ways or makes the worlds feel more alive. But if there’s one game that can revolutionize open worlds in videogames, it’s going to be Rockstar’s GTA 6 which is currently scheduled to release this year, and is likely to be the game that makes a gigantic leap in terms of open world gameplay that we know, and take it all to a whole another level.
